Noteworthy Historical Events InvolvingOr Affecting The Jewish Community:
Skvyra's Jewish community is first mentioned in the records of the first half of the 18th century. In 1736, Haidamaks attacked one of the local Jewish tenants, beat him unmercifully and robbed him. According to the census of 1765, there were 124 houses in Skvyra, 51 of which belonged to Jews. In 1775, 116 Jews lived in Skvyra, in 1784 – 204, and in 1787 – 144. After Skvyra was included in the Pale of Settlement, the town’s Jewish community increased. In 1847, Jewish population amounted to 2,184 people, and in 1897 there were 8,910 Jews in the town (49.5% of the general population). At the end of the 19th century, there were 7 Jewish prayer houses, a parochial school, a hospital, a chemist and a district doctor in Skvyra. Many Jews were also involved in grain and timber export. By 1910 the town housed a Talmud Torah, a private boys’ school and two private girls’ schools. In 1912, the writer and ethnographer S. An-sky visited Skvyra as part of an ethnographic expedition. The results of his research, including collections of Jewish songs gathered during the expedition, can be found in the library of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. According to historian Yakov Iosifovich Gelman, the pogroms that affected other communities in the region in 1881 and 1905 did not reach Skvyra. However, two pogroms were carried out in the town in 1917 (23 October and towards the end of the year) and in 1919 the town was hit by a wave of six pogroms carried out by different gangs, some of which lasted for many weeks. There were robberies and rapes. Jewish property was seized and destroyed or sold to local peasants, and houses were burnt down. 191 people were killed and hundreds more injured, and many more died as the result of an epidemic which spread through the town after the pogroms, killing up to 30 people a day. The Jewish population fled to Kiev, Odessa and Belaya Tserkov. In 1926, the Jewish population of Skyvra was 4,681. According to local census, in 1939 2,243 Jews lived in Skvyra, which ranked among the biggest Jewish communities of Ukraine at that time. During the Second World War, the Sonderkommando headquarters was based in Skvyra for a time. On September 20, 1941, 850 Jews were shot in Skvyra. A few days later, over 140 more were executed. According to the head of Skvyra’s Jewish community, mass shootings of Jews took place in the vicinity of the market, the 2nd school and in Bannaya Street. After the war, Skvyra’s Jewish population totalled approximately 1,000 people; in 1960 – about 500 people.

Additional Comments:
The Hasidic court of the Chernobyl dynasty was established in Skvyra at the beginning of the 1840s by Rabbi Itshak of Skver (1812-1885), one of the younger sons of Rabbi Motele Twersky (1770-1838). After Rabbi Itshak’s death, the court was headed by his son, Rabbi Avraam Yegoshua Geshel of Skver (1826-1886), and then by Rabbi Avraam’s son, Rabbi Moshe Dan of Skver (? - Kiev, 1920) and by his son, Rabbi Itshak of Skver (Skvyra, 1886 – Tel-Aviv, 1986). In the 1920s, after the pogroms, many Skver Hasids left Skvyra. The Skver Hasidic dynasty has continued to exist and grow in number in the United States, notably in the New Square (anglicisation of New Skvir) township in Rockland County, New York. After 1991, many Skver Hasids returned to Skvyra; in 2004 the synagogue and the tzaddik’s court were restored; there is now a hotel for Hasidic visitors in the tzaddik’s former residents. The Jewish community of Skvyra currently numbers 128 people.

Additional Details:
The cemetery site is located next to the River Skvyra, on a hill. The ohel is located at the foot of the hill, next to a water pipeline belonging to the neighbouring brickyard which owns the cemetery land. The site is also adjacent to private dwellings.

Road / Entrance Sign:
No

Language Of Sign:

Sign Text:
n/a

Photo Of Sign:

Identifiable Features On Sign:

The Sign Mentions:

Cemetery Entrance:
no gate

Inscription On:

Inscription Text:
n/a

Cemetery Boundary:
no wall or fence

Additional Comments:
The cemetery site is undemarcated and (apart from the ohel) unmarked. It is not possible to ascertain its boundaries.

Details Where Registry Can Be Located:
It is not known whether the burial index for this cemetery is still in existence.

Burial Cards/Info Exist Only After This Date(YYYY):

Do Burial Cards Have Biographical Data?

Do Burial Cards Have Next-Of-Kin Info?

Do Burial Cards Have Funeral Director Info?

Do Burial Cards Have Health Department Info?

7. Ecological Decay & Vandalism

Security Threat (Uncontrolled Access):
Moderate

Weather Erosion Threat:

Pollution Threat:

Vegetation Threat:

Vegetation Overgrowth In The Cemetery Is:

Water Drainage At The Cemetery Is:

Incompatible Nearby Development Existing:
Very Serious

Incompatible Development Planned/Proposed:
Serious

Vandalism Of Stones and/or Graves:

The Cemetery Was Vandalized:

Additional Details Of Vandalism:

Provide Specific Info On Threats Rated:
The cemetery site is located on the territory of the local brick factory. It is unmarked and undemarcated and there are no remaining gravestones at the site. Two gravestones can be found close to the site by the bank of the river and are at risk from vegetation and water damage and weather erosion.

8. Maintenance & Restoration

Present Cemetery Care:
occasional clearing or cleaning

Details Of Cemetery Care:
The ohel appears to be maintained.

Remuneration - The Caretaker Is:
Unknown

Further Details:
n/a

Details Of Restoration Work Implemented:

Further Details Of Other Restoration Work:
Ohel construction (post-dates the destruction of the cemetery).

Restoration Work Was Directed By:

Further Details:
Unknonwn

Date Restoration Work Was Realized (MM/YYYY):

Vandalized Since Renovation:

Future Restoration Plans:

Restoration Plans Scheduled For:

Restoration Proposed By:

9. Protected Status

Is The Cemetery Protected As a Monument ?
No

Name Of Landmark Organisation:
n/a

Registered Landmark Number:
n/a

Additional Info:
n/a

10. Condition Report

Date Of Last Site Condition Report:
03/09/09

Site Condition Report Completed By:
The Centre for Jewish Education in Ukraine as part of a Lo Tishkach educational project.

Name / Reference Number Of Condition Report:
n/a

Date Of Visit To The Site:

Site Visited By:
n/a

If Interviews Were Conducted Provide Details:

Specify Documentation Used To This Survey:
See 11. Details of Data Sources.

Does Other Documentation Exist ?
Not known

11. Details of Data Sources

Web Source 1:

Web Source 2:

Web Source 3:

Additional Sources:
Initial data taken with permission from cemetery surveys carried out by the Jewish Heritage Preservation Committee in 1995/6 working under the Union of Jewish Religious Organisations of Ukraine. Additional data sources forthcoming.

Record Last Edited: 24/09/09

12. Additional Information

Three burial places were restored in the ohel; there are no epitaphs on them. According to local residents, the central burial place is that of Rabbi Itshak Tversky of Skvyra (1812-1885), the founder of the Skver dynasty; the burial places of his sons (presumably Rabbi Avraam Yehoshua Geshel and Rabbi Israel) are situated on either side. In addition, two gravestones can be found on the river bank. They were previously used by local people and were bought back by the Chairman of the Skvyra Jewish community Yefim Davidovich Shvartsburd.

Inscription on the oldest gravestone:

פ איש נחשוב מ נחמיהבר אפרים נפ זאלול תרנה תנצבה האמערע[ז]

(Trans. Here lies an important man, Mister Nehemiya, the son of Efraim. Died on 7 Elul 5655. May his soul be tied in the knot of life. Gomere [z]).

Cemetery History: The cemetery was founded at the time of the establishment of the community. It was demolished during World War II; after the war, local people used the gravestones for construction. As the brickyard adjacent to the site was expanded, the remaining gravestones were removed and taken to the area by the river bank.